Disruptive noise should not drown voice of people: Vice President Naidu

Stressing on the need to have meaningful debates echoing people's aspirations in Parliament and legislatures, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said loud disruptive noise should not drown the voice of citizens.

Naidu was addressing an event to mark the launch of Sansad TV, a result of the merger of Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV channels.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Parliament is not only about politics but it is about policy too. Actually, it is more about policy, he said.

Describing India as the mother of democracy, Modi also said that democracy is not only a constitutional structure for the people of India, but spirit as well.

On the launch of Sansad TV, the prime minister said that this adds another important chapter to the country's parliamentary system.

Speaking on debates and discussions in Parliament, Rajya Sabha Venkaiah Naidu said that debates should amplify concerns, clarify doubts and deepen shared understanding.

Debates in legislatures throw up solutions to problems but disruptions only dissipate collective energies and delay the task of building a 'new India', Naidu pointed out.

He noted that expansion of the media in the country, particularly television, has been phenomenal.

The recent emergence and rapid expansion of social media and digital media has added another dimension to real-time communication and sharing of information, Naidu said.

With speed and the compulsion to be the first with breaking news occasionally overriding all other considerations, people are confronted with the challenges of ''fake news'' and ''sensationalism'', he felt.

Naidu said that separating truth from falsehood has become a real challenge.

However, people can legitimately be proud of the press which has zealously preserved its freedom over these years and given people multiple view points on issues that matter, the Rajya Sabha chairman said.

He said a single channel for Parliament has become a reality after careful consideration of the recommendations of a committee set up in November 2019.

Much thought and preparation has gone into the merger of Lok Sabha Television (LSTV) and Rajya Sabha Television (RSTV) channels, Naidu said.

LSTV has been functioning for 15 years and RSTV for 10 years providing live coverage of the proceedings of respective Houses as well as other informative programmes to the people, he said.

The new combined channel is expected to bring in synergy and economies of scale, he said.

It is significant that Sansad TV is being launched today to coincide with the International Day of Democracy, Naidu noted.